The details…
- Title: Vengeance Planning for Amateurs
- Author: Lee Winter
- Publisher: Ylva Publishing
- Publication date: February 14, 2024
- Available formats: ebook, paperback
- File size: 1113 KB
- Print length: 389 pages
- Genre: romantic comedy
- Themes: ex-lovers, deceased spouses, widowhood, family, mothers, sisters, friends, books, bookclubs, bookstores, revenge, moving-on, letting go, falling in love, sapphic relationships, women loving women
- Tropes: age-gap, ice queen
The blurb from the publisher…
An offbeat lesbian romantic comedy starring penguins, plotting, and payback.
Muffin maker Olivia Roberts has had it with her awful exes taking advantage of her good nature. The theft of her nana’s beloved stuffed penguin is the absolute last straw.
She puts up an ad at her local crime bookstore for a henchperson to help her enact a little mild revenge. To her astonishment, Margaret Blackwood, the mysterious, icy, and annoyingly opinionated bookstore owner, applies.
For two clever, capable women, they turn out to be woeful at vengeance. But much to their dismay, they discover they’re pretty good at falling in love!
My thoughts…
This book is an absolute delight! It’s a bit unexpected too; Winter doesn’t usually write rom-coms, so this is a real treat. Sure, her narratives are always injected with her razor-sharp wit, but Vengeance Planning for Amateurs gets a little slap-stick and zany at points. This, coupled with Winter’s tone and tenor, tells me she had quite a bit of fun writing it.
The main characters are fantastically well developed. Readers delight in their personalities, especially the way they play off from each other. Though Olivia Roberts and Margaret Blackwood are opposites in nearly every way, they seem to have a chemistry that jumps off the page. Olivia is all sunshine and positive attitude, trying to send joy out in the world wherever she goes. Margaret is much like her last name suggests —black wood. She always appears dark and broody. At first, the two can barely tolerate one another, and it’s amusing to watch. However, as time passes, they discover there’s more to the other than meets the eye. When that happens, the walls begin to come down, and an unavoidable attraction begins to unfurl between them….
The secondary characters are real workhorses in this fun tale. They are the comedic spice that every good rom-com needs to be effective and entertaining. To say they pop on the page is an understatement. These colorful and dynamic individuals light up the story with their presence. Each time they enter a scene, readers know things are going to get a bit more interesting. Their uniqueness not only provides support for the plot, but it supplies a special brand of humor, pushing up the entertainment value several notches. The story would definitely feel less without them.
Final remarks…
Winter’s other books might have hinted that she’d be capable of a rollickingly good rom-com, but to actually see it is a thing of beauty. Olivia and Margaret are likable, dynamic characters, and readers cannot help but fall for them as they fall for each other. Their opposites attract/age-gap romance is a good time any way you slice it—or bake it, as the case may be. Anyone looking for a well-written, chuckle-filled read needs to pickVengeance Planning for Amateurs up.
Strengths…
- Well-written, engaging
- Likable, charming characters
- Humorous
- Fun and entertaining
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A bit about the author…
Lee Winter is an award-winning veteran newspaper journalist who has lived in almost every Australian state, covering courts, crime, news, features and humour writing. She is now a full-time author and part-time editor.
Since becoming a full-time writer, Lee’s accumulated an impressive array of awards:
- 2015 Lambda Literary Award finalist and Golden Crown Literary Society Award winner (The Red Files)
- 2016 Lambda Literary Award finalist (Requiem for Immortals)
- 2017 Golden Crown Literary Society Award-Mystery/Thriller (Requiem for Immortals)
- 2017 bronze winner for mainstream Independent Publisher Book Awards for E-book Mystery/Thriller (Requiem Immortals)
- 2018 Golden Crown Literary Society Award for sci-fi/fantasy (Shattered)
- 2021 Golden Crown Literary Society Award-Romantic Blend (Hotel Queens)
Currently Lee lives in Australia with her long-time girlfriend, where she spends much time ruminating on her garden, US politics, and shiny, new gadgets.
Want to know more about Lee? Check her out on her social media.
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